What is MQVC?

The Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium is a three-day event dedicated to bassoon master classes, presentations, performances, and the live semi-final and final rounds of a competition for young women bassoonists from the Americas. The event, founded by Nicolasa Kuster and Kristin Wolfe Jensen has been held previously at the University of the Pacific, Oberlin College, the University of Texas at Austin, and Ithaca College.

The events of the Symposium are open to all. The Competition itself is for women bassoon players who are citizens of the Americas (North America, Central America, South America), or who are enrolled in school in the Americas during the year prior to the competition and who will not have reached their 24th birthday by the Semi-Final round of competition.

Where are they now?

Many MQVC semifinalists and finalists have gone on to further success and we hear back from them about how the experience of the competition helped them succeed. Here is a sampling of some of the professional positions and honors garnered by MQVC women:

What they say

Participating in the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition in 2010 was a tremendous learning experience for me. Preparing the repertoire, creating a polished preliminary recording, performing for a large audience with a judging panel, and speaking to the audience in a personal yet informative manner are just a few of the skills that the MQVC process helped me develop that have been essential in furthering my career as a professional bassoonist. Thanks to the generosity of donors, I was able to put my first place winnings towards the purchase of a new instrument, a Fox 660. The MQVC was my first international competition and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities it afforded me and for the network of incredible bassoonists I was able to meet.Amanda Swain (MQVC 2010), March 2013

My participation in the Meg Quigley competition played a significant role in my career as a bassoonist and I feel so honored to have been the winner of the inaugural competition in
2005. MQVC came at a time when I was beginning to think about making the transition from my life as a student to that of a professional musician. The preparation for the competition challenged me to focus on repertoire, consisting of pieces both new and familiar to me, and to find a voice to best express these works. Certain requirements of the competition, such as the speaking component and the memorization of the Vivaldi concerto, helped me to connect to the audience. Establishing this communication with the audience has become such an important element of being a performer and I am glad that it was encouraged in the competition. Perhaps the most exciting part about winning the competition was the performing opportunities. It was a wonderfully enriching experience to perform a recital at the IDRS convention and, as a featured soloist at Wichita's Chamber Music at the Barn series, I felt so lucky to work with some wonderful musicians and play for an incredibly enthusiastic and engaged audience.

Now, years after MQVC, I continue to cross paths with many of the people involved in the various elements of the competition. Like in many other fields, music is heavily influenced by personal connections. I am thankful for so many of the people that I met and played with during the experience of this competition and its resulting performances. This competition was also an early contribution to my interest in early music and historical performance, which comprises much of the work that I do today.Stephanie Corwin (MQVC 2005), March 2013